Wireless communication devices are becoming increasingly ubiquitous as more peripheral devices are interfaced with voice communication devices and personal digital assistants (PDAs). The demand for wireless communication with peripheral devices has led to the development of the Bluetooth and IEEE 801.11 communication standards. As these communication standards are accepted and incorporated within the integrated circuits used to implement computer peripherals, the need for antennas that radiate and receive communications at radio frequencies (RF), especially those in the 2.4 to 5 GHz range, will increase.
One way to meet this need is to provide antennas as additional components in the computer peripherals and other wireless communication devices. Antennas provided in this manner may be coupled to an integrated circuit implementing a transceiver through electrical leads soldered to conductive traces on the printed circuit boards (PCBs) in such devices.
In an effort to incorporate antennas within the package for an integrated circuit, substrates have been provided with conductive traces or lengths of bonding wire. These substrates may then be mounted on top of a die containing an integrated circuit using thermal and compression techniques. The electrical components of the die must then be electrically coupled to the antenna so electrical signals may be radiated or received through the antenna. One way of coupling an antenna pad to a component pad is wire bonding while another method uses conductive adhesive inserted into a via to electrically couple an antenna pad to a component pad. When the antenna substrate and integrated circuit substrate are mounted so the antenna and integrated circuit have no intervening substrate between them, as is the case in the so-called “flip chip” arrangement, one or more conductive bumps may be used to electrically couple the components of the substrates. The vertical stacking of substrates in these methods requires the design of pads, vias, and/or conductive bumps on the two substrates and the alignment of these structures during manufacture to successfully couple transceiver components to an antenna. Such alignment may be problematic.
Furthermore, the area of a substrate on which an antenna is placed may be insufficient to provide an antenna of the best physical parameters and geometry. Also, the vertical stacking of substrates may make the dissipation of heat generated by the integrated circuit difficult.
What is needed is a way of providing an antenna within an integrated circuit package without requiring the vertical stacking of substrates.
What is needed is a way of providing an antenna within an integrated circuit package without impairing the dissipation of heat from the area surrounding the integrated circuit.
What is needed is a way of providing more space for the layout of an antenna than is available on a substrate that may be supported by a die on which an integrated circuit is provided.